Interstate 95 is the longest and the most important Interstate in Rhode Island. It was completed fully in 1972 and is the
main highway that serves Providence. It probably is one of the hardest to drive highways
in the state. It was constructed first in Kent County and next in Providence and
Pawtucket. It was finished in 1972 by completing it between Exit 3 and Exit 6. The
Thurbers Ave. Curve and the entire section of the highway in Pawtucket are full of sharp
curves. Its four lanes until you get to SR 4 and it varies from 6-10 lanes for the rest of
the way. During Evening rush hour it is almost impossible to get through the traffic going
southbound to South County. At Exit 22 in Providence you can see the New Providence Place
Mall. Providence Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci wants to bury the entire
highway between I-195 and the 6-10 intersection and stick buildings over it. Most of the
section as just undergone road construction especially south of Downtown Providence. There
needs to be more lanes added to the section between Providence and SR 4 because South
County traffic ties the highway up bad especially in the evening. An exit was just added
to exit 22 going south to go straight to the new Providence Place mall. It is named Exit
22C and follows to the Dean St. Exit to Providence Place Rd.

Interstate 195 was finished in RI in 1962.It
was also known as the George M Cohan Memorial Blvd. It is the
main road leading commuters from the East Bay into Providence. It has 6-8 Lanes through
RI. Exit 8 was the beginning of I-895. It was going to be a giant bridge over the
Narragansett Bay that would connect with SR 37. Barrington residents protested this,
killing the project. In a couple years the highway will move in front of the Fox Point
Hurricane Barrier and its interchange with I-95 will be in front of the RI hospital. This
will eliminate the dangerous S-curve in front of the rotting Providence River Bridge. The
bridge needs to be built because the sharp curve at the Providence River causes backups
into East Providence. It has many exit only lanes and tight curves so it was not a well
planned highway. I-195 as eight exits going eastbound but it has only four going
westbound. I-195 starts in Providence and ends at I-495 at Cape Cod. Right now the plan to
move I-195 has been approved and buildings are already been planned to be demolished to
let the highway go through. A page devoted to the project is here.

Interstate 295 is the main spur around Providence. It
was completed in 1969. It varies from 4-6 Lanes in RI. Exit 5 was supposed to be an
interchange with I-84 which was slated to be completed from Connecticut but it was
scrapped because it would run to close to the Scituate Reservoir which would contaminate
the State's Water Supply. Exit 3 is the beginning of SR 37 which would have been I-895.
This spur starts in Massachusetts can could have been extended eastward past its Northern
Terminus in Attleboro. I-295 starts at Attleboro, MA and ends in Warwick. The Signs going
onto the highway say Woonsocket even though it goes no where near it. It makes no sense
that the highway is three lanes north of Johnston, but when you get to the more densely
populated Cranston and Warwick is turns into to two lanes in each direction.

Interstate
84:This would have been an extension of I-84 in Connecticut. It was
to go from Hartford to Providence and connect with US 6 at I-295. It was partially started
as I-384 in Connecticut. Yet in 1979 the State of Rhode Island Senate killed the
plan because it would affect the Scituate Reservoir which was the source of the Providence
Area's water supply.

Interstate
895:These are basic descriptions but go here
for the whole story.

First I-895; The First I-895 was to be a
bridge across the bay. It would start at SR 37 and would extend through Warwick across the
bay into Barrington where it would connect to the Wamponag Trail which continues to the
South Shore Expressway and connect to I-195 at exit 7. This was killed by NIMBYism of
Barrington residents who didn't want an expressway in their quiet little town. Yet it
would have helped Providence Traffic considerably.

Second I-895; The second I-895 was to be
an extension of SR 24 in Portsmouth. This would have connected 24 and the Newport Bridge
Connector in Newport. One plan was to take the highway along the Western Coast of
Aquidneck Island and the other plan was to take it straight through the middle of the
island and make another bridge parallel to the Mt. Hope Bridge. This Project was also
killed by NIMBYism. Though this would have given some reasoning to the Newport Bridge. It
finally would have given a faster alternative to get to South County from East Bay.